StarOfGlory
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I have little doubt that we will win this Sunday after looking at the Eagles the past few weeks. Why do I believe this? well, let's look at what the Eagles are putting out on the field on the offensive side of the ball. I am detaching myself as a Cowboy fan and looking at this as a former D1 college player.
Here is a view of the current Eagle starting lineup.
O-Line: The Eagles have had a very good to excellent offensive line over the years, but no longer can they be considered a top five line.
LT--Jason Peters
LG--Isaac Seumalo
C---Jason Kelce
RG--Barrett Brooks
RT--Halapoulivaati Vaitai
LT Jason Peters is a first ballot HoFer and one of the best I have ever seen at that position...however, he is in the twilight of his career and struggles to stay on the field. To his credit, he is still an effective player, but no longer the force he once was. His legendary footwork is diminished and he can no longer get down field on a consistent basis. There was discussion of him moving to LG and letting him tutor Dillard on the job, which probably would have been best in the long term.
LG Isaac Seumalo is the Eagle version of a turnstile in the passing game. They have given him every chance to prove he is a top-level player. Well, he isn't. He is merely average in the run game as well.
C Jason Kelce is past his prime; he was even going to retire this year but changed his mind. At 295, his weight was masked by his superior athletic ability and speed--I once saw his outrun a Washington DB down the field and block him. But without his great speed and declining technique, his relatively small size shows in the run game, much like a center he was compared too, Jeff Saturday. At one time considered by some the best center in the game (him and Fredbeard always fighting it out for a few years), he is no longer that player.
RG Barrett Brooks is an excellent RG, and when 100% on his game, it can be argued that him and Lane Johnson made up the best right side in the NFL. But those nagging anxiety issues keep cropping up from time to time, and his game suffers in consistency. By all accounts he is a very good and well-liked person, so the human side of me feels a bit badly for him, as I had a cousin who suffered from his issue.
RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai is a serviceable back-up/spot starter who has his good moments, but is nowhere near the level of player to the man he is replacing. Not much more to say.
Lane Johnson, when healthy, is IMO the best RT in the game. He is not playing. Good for us.
QB--Carson Wentz
RB--Miles Sanders
RB--Boston Scott ??
WR--J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
WR--Greg Ward ??
WR--??? Who the hell knows
TE--Zack Ertz and Dallas Goedart
K--Jake Elliot
P--Cameron Johnson
QB Wentz is not the god some believe him to be nor the trash others believe him to be. Like Dak, he needs his weapons. So far this year he has escaped injury. He has a very strong arm, but he plays like he thinks it will always get him out of trouble. Unlike Goff, who looks terrified sometimes, Wentz often refuses to give up on plays when he should, leading to a higher number of turnovers for his position. He is frustrating at times...throwing high too often, then threading the needle with laser-like precision on other occasions. He still needs to learn how to be a pro-level QB, but he does have the tools.
RB--Miles Sanders was Barkley's back-up at Penn State before becoming the starter. He is a rookie and now actually holds the Eagle rookie record for most total yards, beating out McCoy and D-Jax for that honor. He doesn't have blazing speed but he is quick and not afraid of contact. He is a better receiver than expected, and that has helped the Eagles a bit this year. He shows promise as being a solid member of a RBBC approach that most teams take, and can become the main back in such a system.
RB--Boston Scott was plucked from the Saints practice squad this year and has performed well. He reminds me a bit of Dave Meggett, the former Giant, in the way he moves on the field. Not much film on him.
WR--J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is a rookie who has barely seen the field, and when he has seen the field the look hasn't been great. At 6'2", 225, 4.5 speed, he has the tools but doesn't seem to know what he is doing when he hits the field. Word is that he is overwhelmed by the NFL and needs more time to figure it out.
WR Greg Ward is another practice squad hero who, unlike J.J., is making the best of his opportunity. He is friends with Mahomes since their high school days, when Ward's team beat Mahomes' team in a playoff game. He is your typical 5'10" 175 pound wideout. And he's from Tyler, Texas. That's about it.
TE Zack Ertz is to Wentz as Witten was to Romo. That pretty much sums it up. He usually catches the ball when it's near him. He's big, fast, and one of the NFL's best security blankets playing. We know about him. Not a great blocker though.
TE Dallas Goedart is important as the Eagles use more two-TE sets than any other team. He is a better blocker than Ertz, a bit slower, and generally has good hands (except for dropping a game-winning TD early in the year, IIRC against Atlanta). He would start for most teams.
K Jake Elliot is very good, career long of 61 yards.
P Cam Johnson is a better than average pounder whose game has slipped a bit this year.
Coaching: Jim Schwartz has been owned a few tims this year and Pederson's offense has started slow for too many first halves, but to both their credit they make good half time adjustments and have either won games in the second half or at least made them competitive, all while dealing with injuries that make one wonder if they haven't hired the Commanders' medical staff for this year.
This team has been shredded by injuries all year on both sides of the ball. How they have won five games is a bit if a mystery.
So, the defense that shut down Goff, Gurley, Cupp, Woods, and Brooks is now tasked to stop a yet to emergent QB, a rookie and practice squad player at RB, a rookie who has shown nothing and a practice squad player at WR, while going up against an aging line mixing old vets with former young back-ups. Their only real weapon of note is Ertz, with a shout out to Sanders and Goedart.
If we lose this game, it will be because of coaching. If that happens, I will drive from South Jersey and personally drag Garrett to the airport with a ticket to anywhere out of the state of Texas.
Here is a view of the current Eagle starting lineup.
O-Line: The Eagles have had a very good to excellent offensive line over the years, but no longer can they be considered a top five line.
LT--Jason Peters
LG--Isaac Seumalo
C---Jason Kelce
RG--Barrett Brooks
RT--Halapoulivaati Vaitai
LT Jason Peters is a first ballot HoFer and one of the best I have ever seen at that position...however, he is in the twilight of his career and struggles to stay on the field. To his credit, he is still an effective player, but no longer the force he once was. His legendary footwork is diminished and he can no longer get down field on a consistent basis. There was discussion of him moving to LG and letting him tutor Dillard on the job, which probably would have been best in the long term.
LG Isaac Seumalo is the Eagle version of a turnstile in the passing game. They have given him every chance to prove he is a top-level player. Well, he isn't. He is merely average in the run game as well.
C Jason Kelce is past his prime; he was even going to retire this year but changed his mind. At 295, his weight was masked by his superior athletic ability and speed--I once saw his outrun a Washington DB down the field and block him. But without his great speed and declining technique, his relatively small size shows in the run game, much like a center he was compared too, Jeff Saturday. At one time considered by some the best center in the game (him and Fredbeard always fighting it out for a few years), he is no longer that player.
RG Barrett Brooks is an excellent RG, and when 100% on his game, it can be argued that him and Lane Johnson made up the best right side in the NFL. But those nagging anxiety issues keep cropping up from time to time, and his game suffers in consistency. By all accounts he is a very good and well-liked person, so the human side of me feels a bit badly for him, as I had a cousin who suffered from his issue.
RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai is a serviceable back-up/spot starter who has his good moments, but is nowhere near the level of player to the man he is replacing. Not much more to say.
Lane Johnson, when healthy, is IMO the best RT in the game. He is not playing. Good for us.
QB--Carson Wentz
RB--Miles Sanders
RB--Boston Scott ??
WR--J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
WR--Greg Ward ??
WR--??? Who the hell knows
TE--Zack Ertz and Dallas Goedart
K--Jake Elliot
P--Cameron Johnson
QB Wentz is not the god some believe him to be nor the trash others believe him to be. Like Dak, he needs his weapons. So far this year he has escaped injury. He has a very strong arm, but he plays like he thinks it will always get him out of trouble. Unlike Goff, who looks terrified sometimes, Wentz often refuses to give up on plays when he should, leading to a higher number of turnovers for his position. He is frustrating at times...throwing high too often, then threading the needle with laser-like precision on other occasions. He still needs to learn how to be a pro-level QB, but he does have the tools.
RB--Miles Sanders was Barkley's back-up at Penn State before becoming the starter. He is a rookie and now actually holds the Eagle rookie record for most total yards, beating out McCoy and D-Jax for that honor. He doesn't have blazing speed but he is quick and not afraid of contact. He is a better receiver than expected, and that has helped the Eagles a bit this year. He shows promise as being a solid member of a RBBC approach that most teams take, and can become the main back in such a system.
RB--Boston Scott was plucked from the Saints practice squad this year and has performed well. He reminds me a bit of Dave Meggett, the former Giant, in the way he moves on the field. Not much film on him.
WR--J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is a rookie who has barely seen the field, and when he has seen the field the look hasn't been great. At 6'2", 225, 4.5 speed, he has the tools but doesn't seem to know what he is doing when he hits the field. Word is that he is overwhelmed by the NFL and needs more time to figure it out.
WR Greg Ward is another practice squad hero who, unlike J.J., is making the best of his opportunity. He is friends with Mahomes since their high school days, when Ward's team beat Mahomes' team in a playoff game. He is your typical 5'10" 175 pound wideout. And he's from Tyler, Texas. That's about it.
TE Zack Ertz is to Wentz as Witten was to Romo. That pretty much sums it up. He usually catches the ball when it's near him. He's big, fast, and one of the NFL's best security blankets playing. We know about him. Not a great blocker though.
TE Dallas Goedart is important as the Eagles use more two-TE sets than any other team. He is a better blocker than Ertz, a bit slower, and generally has good hands (except for dropping a game-winning TD early in the year, IIRC against Atlanta). He would start for most teams.
K Jake Elliot is very good, career long of 61 yards.
P Cam Johnson is a better than average pounder whose game has slipped a bit this year.
Coaching: Jim Schwartz has been owned a few tims this year and Pederson's offense has started slow for too many first halves, but to both their credit they make good half time adjustments and have either won games in the second half or at least made them competitive, all while dealing with injuries that make one wonder if they haven't hired the Commanders' medical staff for this year.
This team has been shredded by injuries all year on both sides of the ball. How they have won five games is a bit if a mystery.
So, the defense that shut down Goff, Gurley, Cupp, Woods, and Brooks is now tasked to stop a yet to emergent QB, a rookie and practice squad player at RB, a rookie who has shown nothing and a practice squad player at WR, while going up against an aging line mixing old vets with former young back-ups. Their only real weapon of note is Ertz, with a shout out to Sanders and Goedart.
If we lose this game, it will be because of coaching. If that happens, I will drive from South Jersey and personally drag Garrett to the airport with a ticket to anywhere out of the state of Texas.
